April 10, 2008 1:56 AM PDT

Power strip does 'The Clapper' one better

by Mike Yamamoto
  • Font size
  • Print
  • Post a comment
(Credit: Watt Stopper)

Best intentions aside, even the greenest of us can forget to conserve energy once in awhile, especially if we have other priorities. Watt Stopper understands this, which is why it came up with the "Isole IDP-3050."

No ordinary power strip, the Isole controls six outlets with a sensor that detects whether a person is in the vicinity. If no one seems to be within 300 square feet, its "passive infrared technology" cuts off power when the plugged-in gadgets aren't in use from a programmable 30 seconds to 30 minutes.

There's just one problem: Only two of the strip's eight outlets aren't controlled by the sensor. And with our personal hopelessly tangled workstation, that's about nine short. Still, if we could find a way to make the Isole work, it could be a useful addition in our relentless pursuit of laziness.

Recent posts from Crave
Samsung finally makes NX10 official
Japan university develops see-through fish
Robots in 2009: The wackier, the better
Time Warner Cable shows subscribers how to cut cord
Times Square New Year's Eve Ball, a timeline
Want to see Google's new phone on YouTube?
Photographers bless improved Canon autofocus
Gadgettes Podcast 168: The Web obviously-not-exclusive-at-all-anymore Episode
advertisement

About Crave

The name says it all. Crave is our blog about gorgeous gadgets and other crushworthy stuff. If you would like to contact Crave with a tip or comment, please write to: crave@cnet.com

Add this feed to your online news reader

Crave topics

15 sites that went kaput in 2009

Web sites launch all the time, but they also shut their doors. We highlight 15 that bit the dust this year.

Top 10 news stories of the decade

Let the debate begin: Was the iPhone more important than iTunes? Was anything bigger than Google finding a great business model? CNET offers its list of the 10 most important stories of the '00s.